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Miami
''Miami ''is the third studio album by American singer and rapper Kitty. It was released on April 27, 2018 by Island Records. The album marked a departure from the more mainstream pop and hip hop instrumentation of her previous album Two Birds, One Kitty ''and a return to the bedroom pop of her earlier works. Lyrically, the album touches on themes of requited love, escapism and youth naivety. Upon release, ''Miami ''received mostly positive from music critics, who applauded its soft and intimate approach. At the time of its release, some critics considered the album Kitty's best album to date. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 114,000 units in its first week, and peaking at number two in Australia and the United Kingdom. The album was supported by the release of three singles: "Overpass", "Mass Text Booty Call" and "Drink Tickets". Background and recording In an October 2017 interview with W Magazine, Kitty revealed she had begun working on a new album. In January 2018, she announced on a Billboard interview that she had been working on the album while touring, and was reclaiming an old concept for her second album, who was at one point set to be called ''Miami Garden Club; Kitty disclosed that she was tempted to officially give a go to the concept, since it was something very "close" to her. During the album's recording process, it was reported that longtime producer Felix Snow had collaborated with Kitty for Miami, but their writing sessions did not produce any material for the album. Kitty, instead, preferred to give smaller and unknown artists, specially the ones from the underground Miami scene, their moment to shine. She also stated that she intended to be the truest she's ever been to her music, which led her to not only solely write the songs during tour stops and breaks, but also give a hand on some of the tracks' productions. Composition Musically, Miami ''has been variously described as an atmospheric-styled work of "bedroom, deliberately amateur-sounding pop", "80's dream pop", and a return to "the remarkable lo-fi nuances" of a slew of tracks from Kitty's debut album, ''Impatiens. The record further incorporates elements of synth-pop, 90's pop music, experimental pop and dance music. The album's production was noted as containing subtly layered vocals, melodies that swiftly unwind, decaying synths, echoing guitar lines, smooth drum patterns, repetitive usage of vocal samples and shy electronic drops. Lyrically, Miami ''features content that touches upon requited love, escapism and youth naivety. The love-tinted tracks were reportedly inspired by Kitty's relationship with her husband and frequent collaborator Sam Ray. Kitty has described the record as "vulnerable, personal and just really, really intimate, like listening to a friend getting everything off her chest". Release and promotion The album's cover artwork was photographed by Sam Ray, with the art direction handled by Kitty herself and Ale Garza. It features Kitty naked while bathed in blue and orange lightning, with her stage name and the album title placed right above the picture. The artwork and title to the album were officially released on January 19, the same day the album was made available for pre-order on digital retailers. In addition to compact disc, the album was also released as a double LP pressed on black vinyl. An exclusive limited edition double LP was also released by Urban Outfitters, pressed on white vinyl; the release also features alternate cover art showing Kitty in a pink-treated photograph. The vinyl includes an exclusive bonus track called "Running Away", which would only be unleashed for streaming a year later. Singles "Overpass" was released as the album's lead single on December 8, 2017, after being added a month earier to Kitty's first world tour, the Kittaveli Tour. The song became one of her highest peaking singles in the United Kingdom until that point, debuting at number 9 before peaking at the fourth position a week later. Two other singles followed: "Mass Text Booty Call" on January 19, 2018 and "Drink Tickets" on March 30. Promotional singles "2 Minutes" and "Affectionate" were released as theonly promotional singles from the album on April 20, 2019, just a week before the album was released worldwide. Other songs Although not released as a single, the album's title track, "Miami Garden Club", received a self-directed music video that was released the same day the album came out, on April 27. This marked the first time Kitty has directed a video. Live performances Kitty performed "Overpass" for the first time on live television on the X Factor UK finals, on December 17. On January 14, 2018, she performed a medley of several of her previous songs alongside "Overpass" on the 60th Grammy Awards, where she was honored with the major award of the night, on the coveted Album of the Year category. The medley performance consisted of "#Unfollowed", "See You Soon", "Luxury" and "Wrapper", before she closed it off with "Overpass". On March 30, Kitty premiered "Drink Tickets" live on The Graham Norton Show. She also performed the song on April 3 on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge. On April 17, she performed the song on Ellen, reprising the performance the day the album came out, April 27, on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Kitty chose not promote the album with big television performances runs given her laryngitis condition following extensive touring through 2017. She instead relied on print interviews, music videos, fan meets, and social media. Urban Outfitters held an early listening event on April 20 in select stores. Tour On July 6, 2018, Kitty began her intimate tour at the House of Blues in Chicago in promotion of ''Miami. Opting for a less is more type of approach, the Miami Tour visited smaller venues across the United States and Canada. Kitty was accompanied by Lil Debbie during the twenty-four show run in theaters. Critical reception Miami received positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 77, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Leonie Cooper of NME said the album "sounds too cohesive and majorly good", although she pointed out that "it takes some tracks to get the fire heat, but when it does, you'll feel hot for the rest of the album". In a strongly positive review, Stephen Thomas of Billboard called the album "stunning" and praised Kitty for being "one of the most groundbreaking artists in the industry". He dubbed her sound as "unique", saying that, on the album, she manages to "blur the lines between modern and retro". Commercial performance Miami debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 115,000 album-equivalent units, marking Kitty's third number one record on the chart. In the following week, the album fell to the twelfth position, selling 23,000 additional copies. The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart with sales of 29,345 copies, giving Kitty her third top ten album on the chart. Tracklist ''Miami ''–''' Standard edition All tracks written and composed by Kathryn Beckwith, except where noted. Miami '–' Target and international bonus tracks ''Miami ''– Urban Outfitters vinyl bonus track ''Miami ''– '''Spotify bonus tracksa * On physical releases, track 7 is printed as "If You Wanna Come Over". * On the Urban Outfitters vinyl, the intro to "Mass Text Booty Call" was released as a separate track, titled "Mass Text Booty Call-in", and track 8 is printed as "Seabreeze". * ^a The Spotify version of the album was updated on April 26, 2019, to celebrate its first anniversary. Charts Certifications